OBS Chapter 4236 The Crown and the Scepter
Chapter 4236 The Crown and the Scepter
Chapter 4236 The Crown and the Scepter
The Astley family had absolutely no connection to the Zionists in Delineor, at least that's what Vigo believed. Although recent analysis of her mother Peggy Flamel's former bank accounts suggested that the alchemist may have received money from the Zionists, Vigo thought it was unrelated to politics.
So she quickly put the matter out of her mind and continued talking to Shad about the wealth her ancestors had accumulated over generations. She planned to add some more things to these treasure rooms before she passed away.
She doesn't currently possess anything of great significance or value, but given Xia De's existence, she has a long lifespan ahead of her, so these issues aren't urgent for her to consider.
Miss Rowling was busy in the other rooms with the pendant in her hand. Viggo was explaining things very attentively, and Shad was listening very carefully as well. But then "her" voice suddenly rang out, and directed Shad to look in another direction.
Vige was very curious after noticing that Xia De looked up:
"What's wrong?"
She looked up as well. The ceilings of these secret rooms were polished to a very smooth finish, without any carvings on them. She didn't even remember looking at the ceilings when she came here before.
"Wei Ge, is there something up there?"
Shad pointed to the ceiling above his head, or more precisely, to a corner of the ceiling on the east side of the room. The two of them were in the central room of the five secret chambers, and "she" had not given Shad any warning when they passed through the other rooms.
What is it?
Wei Ge hesitated for a moment, then continued to observe the corner of the ceiling. After more than ten seconds, she said uncertainly:
"Illusion?"
An ancient and powerful illusion conceals the secret of the ceiling—a hidden compartment. It's quite ingenious; even the most powerful illusion will eventually be seen through, but if the illusion is placed in a location that's not easily visible, even the most skilled magicians won't find it easily, since the most attractive thing here is the various treasures.
This illusion was probably left behind a very long time ago, but even after so long, it still hides the secrets of this place very well. Wei Ge even felt that the caster was of a higher level than herself.
After Shad floated up slightly and examined the illusion, he came to a surprising conclusion:
"The caster is a vampire, probably at the twelfth ring. I've seen the unique illusions of vampires from my vampire friends, and this is very similar."
"A vampire? Can it break illusions?"
"There's no need to crack it; it's just there to prevent people from discovering the secret above the ceiling. There's no harm in keeping it."
Shad felt around in the corner of the ceiling for a while, and after locating the spot, he carefully melted part of the wall with "Ferlian Anna's Witch Light". Then a wooden box and a flat, long wooden crate fell from the ceiling.
Both the box and the chest are made of rosewood, so they remain intact even after a hundred years.
After Shad took them out, they fell back to the ground. Miss Rowling heard the sound and came over to check. All three of them saw the clear emblem of the Kingdom of Delinor on the surface of the box and chest.
"I feel like I've discovered something incredible."
The box and its contents were all wrapped in red velvet. Although they were mentally prepared, Viggo and Miss Rowling still gasped when Shad carefully removed the velvet to reveal the crown and scepter.
The crown is made entirely of pure gold and inlaid with various gemstones, with a solemn design. The scepter is long and sturdy, crafted from fine gold. The top is decorated with iris patterns and inlaid with golden gemstones, its form dignified and upright.
Shad certainly didn't recognize the two items, but that didn't stop him from making conjectures:
"Could this be the crown and imperial scepter used by the Delineor royal family?"
Neither Viggo nor Miss Rowling answered, so the honorary doctorate in history, who was not good at history, asked:
"What happened to Delineor's crown and scepter after the siege of Arcadia ended?"
Miss Rowling answered softly:
"These two items were taken and collected by the Anjou family. Theoretically, they should be in the Anjou royal treasury, guarded by that all-steel vault and countless royal guards."
"Were there any photos of those two items?"
Shade asked again, but they didn't know; no one had ever cared about such things before. Viggo wasn't sure what the crown and scepter were either; she wasn't an expert in appraising antiques.
“Margaret has already left Velendale, otherwise I could have asked her to confirm; she would definitely recognize it. How about I ask Granny Cassandra to have it appraised? Even if Granny doesn’t recognize it, the appraisers at the auction house will surely be able to give me an answer.”
Shad thought it was a good idea:
"Then let Grandma take a look. If, I mean, if these are the crown and scepter from back then, how did they end up here?"
This is the most important question, and Shad and Viggo have the same answer:
"Duke Astley not only preserved the royal bloodline, but also the royal lineage, is that right?"
Vige was certain that no one in the family knew of the existence of these two items; in fact, very few people in the family knew about this secret chamber. Perhaps the secret had been lost in the lineage at some point, and perhaps apart from the last duke, no one knew of the existence of these two items.
In short, Vige was not delighted to have discovered them; instead, she saw it as a major problem.
“I have no intention of reviving the ancient kingdom. This thing in my hands will only bring big trouble to the family.”
She complained to Xia De:
"Our ancestors were really something, leaving behind such things. If they had any ambitions, that would be one thing, but our family has really done nothing since the fall of Derinor."
She had no ambition for power, and never thought of restoring Derinor to become queen herself.
"Let's just consider it a keepsake left by our ancestors, but without authentication, no one knows if it's real or fake. I have seen the crown of Dela Rion, though, and it's quite different from this one."
Shad said this, and Viggo then gestured for Shad to bow his head, before placing the crown on Shad's head. She gestured for Shad to remain still, then paced back and forth, observing him.
"So ugly."
"Ok?"
"No, I wasn't talking about you. I was saying that this crown is really ugly, and I don't want to wear it on my head."
This was not the first time Shad had worn a crown. He had taken out a replica of the king's crown from a gift box before. That crown often became an accessory for Shad and the girls during their nighttime activities. Even Galina had worn that crown while playing with Shad.
Wei Ge, of course, knew nothing of these things. She picked up the scepter again and played with it for a moment:
"Let Mother-in-law authenticate it. If it's genuine, we can reseal it. Or, we can give it to Margaret at a crucial moment, so she can use the credit for finding it to compete for the throne, how about that?"
"Then all the great witches in the council will owe you a favor. If a queen appears among the next generation of witch apprentices, your council chairman will be laughing in his sleep, right?"
"It's hard to imagine this scene. Your Excellency the Speaker is a very composed person."
Wei Ge laughed, then sighed:
"So, where are the clues left by the mother?"
The mysteriously appearing crown and scepter seem to hint at some long-ago secrets unknown to anyone, but compared to these trivial matters, Vige is more concerned about the whereabouts of her younger sister.
After Shad turned the crown and scepter into cards, he temporarily put them away. Then, Vige didn't introduce the collection to Shad anymore, and the three of them inspected all the items together.
Although they were using the primitive method of searching by touch, there weren't many items in the collection room, so after a while, Vige found the suspected target:
"This should be it."
Inside the opened rosewood jewelry box lay a teardrop-shaped ruby, the size of a fingernail. Having been introduced to gem appreciation in the academy's courses and learned to distinguish different gems from the girls around him, he could tell the value of this ruby:
"It's really beautiful."
"Yes, it also has a beautiful name—the Heart of Sera. Although this gem is not large, there is a story behind it that is related to love, faith, family, and hatred."
Vigé didn't explain the story to Shad, but instead held up the jewelry box, gesturing for Shad to touch it. Shad touched it and indeed felt faint traces of elements—traces of alchemy.
Viggo then tried placing the princess's pendant next to the ruby, but nothing happened.
Shad thought for a moment:
"Vie, does the story behind this gem involve anything related to alchemy? Or perhaps astrology or divination?"
When the petite Miss Felicia Anna commented on the "Perfect Child" project, she mentioned that the wisdom of the Emerald Book could be divided into three parts: astrology, alchemy, and psychic arts. At that time, Shad guessed that the four bottles of solution that were divided into four were also related to this.
Wei Ge thought for a moment:
"That's actually a love story, about a man and a woman from rival families who fall in love and ultimately meet a tragic end due to fate. This gemstone was their token of love. I can't think of any connection to what you mentioned at the moment."
"Master, perhaps we can get a clue if we attend the auction tonight."
Miss Rowling expressed her opinion, but Viggo shook her head:
“I don’t want to wait for my mother to give me clues before I can figure things out myself. I don’t object to using the clues my mother gives me to verify my guesses, but I have to walk my own path.”
She continued thinking, and neither Shad nor Miss Rowling disturbed her. After a moment, Viggo sighed:
“Well, I’ve thought of a possibility. Shad, since this used to be the capital of Delineol, have you ever wondered where the former royal palace went? The Burgundian family wasn’t exactly a frugal royal family; they also built palace complexes like the Jodl Palace and the Cold Spring Palace.”